


Spark

by thienaultha



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-14 16:45:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5750635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thienaultha/pseuds/thienaultha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tension rises in Houtou castle and Dokugakuji takes notice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [opalmatrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/opalmatrix/gifts).



> Written for the 2015 Yuletide Smut Exchange.

Winter made the air brittle, and not even the resident crows would venture out. The increased silence was a small blessing, Dokugakuji thought. When he first arrived there, he had trouble fathoming how it was to live with the constant overcast sky and barren trees, topped off with murders of crows. Kougaiji had made a passing comment, that it hadn’t always been that way. Doku believed it had something to do with whatever the hell Nii and Gyokumen were up to. What happened when science and youkai magic collided was something of an unspoken topic, and thus largely a mystery.

They were returning from one of Gyokumen’s tedious errands, steeling themselves against the freezing wind. It was hell riding a flying dragon in winter. Doku wrapped his heavy cloak around himself as tight as possible against the constant buffeting from the wind. He glanced at Kou, who had done the same. Doku couldn’t see his face, and settled for watching red hair as they passed through some cloud cover.

The youkai villagers had been impressed that someone of Kougaiji’s status—and Kougaiji himself, nonetheless—had paid a visit to their town. Word of Lord Kougaiji had spread fast and far in the regions surrounding the once silent Houtou Castle, and they were trickling beyond now. Dokugakuji provided support for Kougaiji in this mission, which included gathering information, along with Gyokumen Koushu’s requested supplies.

Their destination was a well-populated town with large streets and sprawling buildings, and the residents had answered Kougaiji’s questions easily.

"You’re getting pretty famous, Kou," Dokugakuji remarked when they made it back to the flying dragons. "It worked out pretty well here."

Kougaiji had been given a good sum of information, mostly of Sanzo priests, the local atmosphere and relations, that sort of thing. Gyokumen wanted them to find answers, and Dokugakuji thought it was suspicious.

"That is true," Kougaiji agreed. He had begun to untether his dragon, but stopped.

Dokugakuji looked up from balancing the last bag of supplies across his saddle. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking."

Kougaiji seemed tense, the muscles in his arms taut and his back stiff. Tension was building in Kougaiji as of late, and Doku had been left pondering how to ease it. It spun and twisted inside him and left no room for rest, and he could only watch.

Dokugakuji clapped him on the shoulder. "Relax, don’t think _too_ hard." He glanced at the sky. "Well, I think I’ll have a drink once we get back. We should probably hurry, so we can get there before dark."

"Right."

After that, Kougaiji barely spoke the whole trip home, and Doku, still, was left staring at his back. The prince’s hair was a colorful splotch in the dull atmosphere, the long locks reminding Doku of kite tails.

It was beautiful, that red.

 

***

 

Gyokumen Koushu tapped a long lacquered nail on the arm of her chair as Kou reported back to her the results of their task. It was pretty straightforward. She and Nii had been looking for some scriptures, and the whereabouts of the priests who held them. They already possessed one, though he didn’t know the details of how it had been retrieved. They were vital, she had said. Kou had agreed easily enough, keeping his eyes on his ultimate goal. Doku had caught on quickly.

Gyokumen was a devil, uncaring and manipulative.

"Hmm." She was silent for a moment before continuing. "I think we’ll be able to commence further operations very soon. That’s enough for now, you’re dismissed."

Kougaiji balled his hands before turning to leave. Doku couldn’t see his face, but knew he was frustrated. Whenever Kou had to talk to his step-mother, he clenched his fists.

Doku stepped out of Kou’s way, then followed him out of the chamber.

"It doesn’t seem too efficient to not let us in on the next stage of the plan, don’t you think?"

"What we know and don’t know is her decision, unfortunately," Kougaiji said, his voice low and agitated.

Dokugakuji frowned.

They walked together down the long corridor, very old and very tall. Doku had never been in a building of that stature, let alone a castle, and he’d done plenty of grunt work playing bodyguard to all sorts of people that needed it. He’d scraped the bottom of the barrel, managing living, until he met Kou.

Kougaiji stopped at the entrance to another chamber to glance inside for just a moment, before he turned back and made his way down the hall. It was his mother. Dokugakuji had looked, too, despite having seen the spectacle many times now.

Kougaiji’s mother, wrapped in cold stone surrounded by intricate talismans that swayed from the small draft that ran through the castle. It was an eerie sight.

Doku reasoned Rasetsunyo must be a good person, if Kougaiji would submit to Gyokumen Koushu for her, fight for her. He realized though, in the end, he didn’t really care. He cared about Kougaiji and what Kougaiji wanted.

Maybe it was because he saw Gojyo, in a way, when he first laid eyes on him. Maybe because of that hair, and the guilt he’d stifled for years. Kougaiji was honorable and maybe a little naïve, but in a way it felt endearing. Someone like that, being around him, soothed something in Doku that he’d feared might have become an irreparable piece of him. Their meeting felt like a second chance, and he had no intentions of screwing up now.

"Finally, you’re back!" Lirin rushed to the doorway. They’d retired to their common room and hung their cloaks on the wall rack while Lirin rocked on her heels in excitement, her curls bouncing across her face. "You didn’t bring anything for me?"

"It wasn’t a vacation, you little brat," Dokugakuji retorted, rubbing his knuckles into her head.

"Next time," Kougaiji assured her. Doku caught a glimpse of Kou’s smile, warm and soft.

Lirin broke away to argue with her brother, tugging at his jacket.

"Welcome back," Yaone greeted. She was out of uniform and her hair had been untied. "How did it go?"

Dokugakuji walked with her to the dining area. "It went fine, found what we needed."

They all sat around the table and dug into the meal Yaone prepared before their arrival. It was soup, a damn good soup, too, with what little they had. Gyokumen wasn’t always that generous with their budget. Any tension they had before had melted, the warm feeling of togetherness and family outweighing the looming darkness.

 

***

 

The night was quiet, with echoing promises of training planned for the next day, since Gyokumen hadn’t given them any other orders. Lirin had been shooed off to bed, and the fire still burned in the kitchen hearth to stave off the chilly night.

Dokugakuji, after a little contemplation and a little drink that he’d promised himself earlier, decided to visit Kougaiji, whom had retired to his quarters for the evening. He’d wondered once before if the room Kou stayed in was his actual bedroom, for it seemed under-decorated for a prince’s quarters. Not that he knew what a prince’s quarters were supposed to look like.

Kougaiji’s neutral expression didn’t change when he saw Dokugakuji on the other side of the door. "Is there something you need, Dokugaku?"

"Nah," Dokugakuji rubbed the back of his neck. "I just wanted to talk."

Kougaiji opened his room to him. He pulled up the polished wood chair from a desk to sit in and rapped his knuckles on the arm. "I’m surprised Gyokumen didn’t give us something else to do."

"I imagine she’s preoccupied, considering the information we gave her," Kougaiji speculated. "It’s another step toward reviving my father…"

"And in turn your mother," Doku finished.

"Yes." Kougaiji nodded.

Dokugaku gazed at the shadows and flickering light playing across Kougaiji’s features. He got caught in the curve of a shadow over his collarbone, and he admired the view, resisting an urge to reach out for Kou’s long hair, like fire in the warm light.

"Is there anything else?" Kougaiji asked.

"Not really." Dokugaku rocked the chair. "You’ve just been really tense lately. I guess I’m worried."

Kougaiji’s lips cracked into a small smile. "I appreciate your concern--"

Dokugakuji sat upright, folding his arms. "You’re winding tighter and tighter with every menial task she gives us."

Kougaiji was staring at him like he just said something mildly incredulous. Sometimes Dokugaku thought it would be easier to ditch Houtou, but Kougaiji was determined, and even Dokugakuji had to admit that something else was running through this tower, in the relationship between Gyokumen and the Gyumaoh family. His mother revived was what mattered most, and he stayed to ensure that victory. Kou wouldn’t run away, and maybe in Kou’s mind that’s what he felt he’d be doing if he left. Of course, Doku would end up thinking of something like that. If there was anything he knew how to do, he reasoned, it was running away.

But Kou was brave, and definitely stubborn, and he admired that. Doku wouldn’t turn away from his side for anything. If this is what Kou wanted, Doku was fine putting up with anything else that came along.

Dokugakuji draped an arm over Kougaiji’s shoulders. "I know it can’t be avoided. It’s impossible to be comfortable in a place like this, but I think you should try and unwind just a little bit."

"And how do you presume I do that?"

Doku shrugged, his arm still across the prince’s shoulders. He didn’t know, he just knew he wanted those moments when their bond outshined the bleak landscape, the cruel ringleader and the unseen laboratories with their taboos in the basements.

Their sides touched, and Doku suddenly realized that Kougaiji had made no move to separate, he just gazed at Doku, calm and poised.

After a few minutes of silent companionship and contemplation, it was Kougaiji who moved next, planting a firm kiss at the corner of Dokugakuji’s mouth. Surprising, but not unwelcome, Doku laughed once while Kou raised an eyebrow before he they turned to each other and spent the night there in the low lantern light.

 

***

 

The sun was over the horizon, but its warmth barely reached Houtou Castle. Its feeble light cast dim sunbeams through the grey winter clouds. Dokugakuji stared out over the landscape from the quarter’s balcony. Protecting himself from the chill, he wore a casual robe, something he slipped on when he slid out of Kougaiji’s bed. The rest of the night had come naturally, and they took it as it came. Dokugaku figured that’s what they’d do for the future, too.

It was unusually cold this year. He’d gotten used to the heat only recently, and then this damn cold snap. The winds from this altitude were no help, either.

Rustling behind him caught his attention, broke his train of thought. Kougaiji had stepped out, his hair askew.

"Good morning," Doku said, and Kougaiji inclined his head in return.

"It’s a little too cold to be out here like this, don’t you think?" Kougaiji gestured to Doku’s robes before folding his arms tighter around himself.

Kou looked bitter with his arms tucked in and half lidded eyes. The icy wind played with his hair, and nipped at Doku’s own nose and cheeks.

Doku chuckled and rose to stand beside the prince. "Yeah, I was just thinking about crawling back into bed myself."

He thought to joke if Kou was coming back with him, but when he turned to ask, Kougaiji was gazing at the sunrise, as stern and contemplating as he ever was.

"Dokugaku, about our conversation," Kou began. "I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. I’ll do what I have to do. But if you--"

"Yeah, I get it." Dokugakuji had reached over and ruffled Kougaiji’s hair. "Whatever you want to do, Kou, I’ll back you up. I meant what I said when I swore to your service."

They shared a moment of silence, watching the fog from their breath and heavy clouds roll in.

"I think we’ve got enough time for once to warm back up before we’re dragged to breakfast," Doku mused. "I’m going back under the covers."

He shuffled back to the bed and glanced over his shoulder to see Kougaiji anchoring himself near the wall, watching him.

Doku turned and fluffed the sheets, hoping that maybe a small pocket of heat would still be left behind. He paused and looked up at Kougaiji.

"You’re coming, right? Once in a lifetime chance."

Kougaiji smiled.


End file.
